Crazy
by Greta
Summary: AU When Seiya Kou, cocky superstar and womanizer par excellence, is forced to visit psychotherapy, the last thing he expects is to a meet a girl there who will turn his world upside down - and not only because she believes that she is really a superhero.
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: So, here I am, writing a new story, when there are two unfinished ones already. Sorry about that, especially to everyone who's looking forward to an update for Bloodstained. But blame my muse and not me. This story just popped into my head and simply _had_ to be written down. Some credit is definitely due though, as I was totally inspired by „Freudian" by fabulist, a Tangled fanfiction here on ff dot net and probably one of the best fanfictions I have ever read.

As the summary says: This is completely A/U and eventually will be S/U. There will be lots of bad language and bad habits along the way, so the rating will probably go up in later chapters. For now it's only some cursing, so I think a T is still safe ;)

Tell me what you think!

Cheers,

Greta

* * *

Crazy

Chapter 1

By Greta

* * *

Seiya crossed his hands sullenly across his chest, a deep frown on his face, as he sat slumped in the back seat of a fast moving car. He was mumbling beneath his breath in a very vicious sounding tone.

"What's that you're cursing about now, Seiya?" A voice drawled towards him from the seat in front of him.

"Oh fuck it, you know exactly that I think this is absolutely pointless and useless, Yaten."

Said Yaten only rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, tough shit, Seiya. Get over it. We're going." The driver of the car, a young man with long auburn hair, said in a stern voice.

Seiya's eyes narrowed to slits, as he ground his teeth. "But what good will it do? It's not as if my reputation will get any better once the public finds out I'm visiting a fucking shrink!"

At this the young man driving the car laughed dryly. „You really think I give a shit about your reputation? In fact, I rejoice every time a tabloid prints another embarrassing story of you and your fuck-ups. Like that one, last week, of the drunken fight you got into –„

"Wasn't that with a paparazzi? I heard he's thinking about suing him now," Yaten chipped in.

"Oh is he? Good for him."

"Hey!" Seiya yelled in an indignant tone. "Whose side are you on?" But his two companions just ignored him.

"Yeah, or that one story of the girl claiming she was pregnant with twins from him?"

"But that didn't turn out to be true, did it?"

"No, I don't think so. Shame, really."

"Hey!" Seiya yelled at them again, pushing himself forwards to look at them. "Stop that!"

"No Seiya, you stop it. Every time there's another story I think to myself, please Lord, make him realize what an ass he is making of himself and finally stop with all the bullshit. But you never do. Instead it only gets worse and worse."

"Oh come on, it's not as if you two are such saints either."

"But at least we know how to control ourselves. Something you're sorely missing. And it's starting to affect us as a group."

"Bullshit."

Yaten, who had been silent throughout the last minutes of verbal banter between Seiya and Taiki, now turned around in his seat to face Seiya, grabbing the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to his face with more strength than he looked capable of having.

"Maybe you've been so knocked out on booze and drugs and cheap groupies and I don't know what else that your brain is starting to get affected as well. Maybe your memory's already impaired so I'll be kind enough to help you remember: we have not been successful these past few months, heck this past year. You haven't written anything decent in ages. You never show up for practice. We've canceled god knows how many shows just because you were too high to care. Your singing is starting to suck." Yaten said, holding up his other hand and ticking the things he was saying off on his fingers. "You are ruining the band. And believe me," he hissed, "if you manage to succeed, I will kill you."

Seiya just rolled his eyes at the silver-haired man, his jaw set, his fingers clenching into a fist. Oh how good it would feel to just punch his companion in the face.

"So be glad that we're only taking you to the shrink." Yaten said before releasing his grip on the black dress-shirt, and slumping back into his chair, staring back at the street ahead.

"Dr. Meioh is supposed to be one of the best in the business. Minako found her through some connections of hers," Taiki continued after a few minutes of silence in the car.

"What?" Seiya yelped once more. "Minkao knows about this too?" He groaned before slumping back into his seat, one hand over his eyes.

"It was her idea actually."

"Yeah, well isn't that great, now it'll only be a matter of what, a week, before everyone in Tokyo knows I'm going to a psychiatrist! She's such a loudmouth."

"Hey, don't talk about her like that," Yaten snapped at him.

"What, I thought you two had broken up? What do you care?"

Yaten didn't reply to this, grumbling beneath his breath as he defensively crossed his arms in front of him and leaned against the window. Seeing this, Seiya thought about poking around in the wound a bit more but decided against it. What good would it do after all? Knowing Yaten, he would probably explode and try to crawl back right over the car seat towards him, ready to start a fight. Not that he'd mind giving that obnoxious face a few good punches, but he had a feeling that a scene like that wouldn't bode well with Taiki either, and he really didn't feel like being the reason of getting them all into a car accident on top of everything else that day. Then he'd never convince them that visiting a psychiatrist was really just a fucking stupid idea.

* * *

"Why are you two accompanying me? It's not as if I can't find the way on my own," Seiya muttered as they rode up in the elevator of the modern glass building they had stepped into a few minutes ago. Yaten and Taiki were standing on either side of him, keeping very close, their eyes darting from side to side every now and then. He was sure they were looking for nooks and crannies that he might be thinking about hiding in. He felt like a child amongst overprotective parents.

Taiki chuckled quietly at this. "Seriously Seiya, do you think we're stupid? As if you'd ever go anywhere near that office if we'd just let you have come here alone."

Seiya sighed. Taiki was of course completely right, like he almost always was. Seiya's eyes had been darting from side to side as well as they'd entered the building looking and hoping to find some way out of this. Where for instance was a mob of crazy fan girls when you needed one? It'd be the perfect distraction amidst which he could make his getaway. But no, no one lurked around the corner, waiting to pounce on them. They were only surrounded by a few businessmen. Now that he thought about it, it had been some time since a smitten girl had pounced on him as he walked down the street, begging for a photograph and an autograph, close to fainting when he even offered to take a photo with her. What had Yaten said before? That he was ruining the band? Could it be true?

But no, of course not! What he was doing with his free days wasn't affecting anyone else besides himself. It had just been ages since he had stepped outside or actually gone anywhere during the day when the sun was still shining. His days never started before the early afternoon now and lasted well into the night, often until the sun rose once more. And that was no time for the stupid, love struck fangirls to be up and about. The fans he met during that time of day were no wee teenagers anymore, and they were not satisfied with things like a signed picture. He couldn't help but grin as he thought of the girl he'd been with last night. And yes, that had been last night! There was no reason to believe that they were really losing their touch as a band! And of course, crazy fangirls didn't lurk around corners in business buildings, there was nothing to be surprised about that. Yaten and Taiki were just bullshitting him, that was what this was all about, Seiya thought, self-satisfied.

The elevator door opened with a ching, revealing a broad and friendly looking corridor which led straight to a waiting room full of comfortable chairs and expensive looking white leather sofas. A delicate glass table stood in the middle of these chairs, a neat pile of magazines and a large vase holding a single white flower atop of it. A secretary was sitting behind a massive wooden desk, busily typing something into a computer as she was talking with someone on the telephone. Everything about the room seemed high-class and expensive. This doctor really seemed to know what she was doing, or else she just knew how to rip people off. Seiya sighed as he slumped down into a chair, as Taiki walked over to the receptionist.

So this was really happening. He, Seiya Kou, was going to visit a shrink. This really seemed like an all-time low to him.

He sat there, his elbows on his knees, his hands rubbing his temples for the next few minutes. It wasn't until he heard a young, feminine voice that he looked up again.

A woman with olive coloured skin and long, dark-green hair had opened a door behind the secretary. She was standing in the doorway, smiling warmly at a smaller, rather skinny looking woman with the strangest hairdo he had ever seen. It was pulled up into two buns on top of her head, one sitting snugly on the right, the other on the left side of her head. But still her hair was so long that it reached down to her hips, swaying softly around her. As he followed that cascade of blonde hair, his eyes roamed over her lithe figure as well, and he couldn't help but grin. Hm, maybe coming here wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Alright Tsukino-san, take care of yourself. I look forward to seeing you again next week," the older woman said while shaking the blonde's hand, still smiling fondly at her.

"Thank you, Meioh-san," the blonde girl replied, bowing, before turning to the receptionist's desk to ask for her next appointment.

Seeing this, Seiya got up, and sauntered into her direction, a sexy smile playing on his lips, waiting for the squeal of delight, the gasps and the fluttering of eyelids, once he was recognized. The blonde was now tucking away a card in her small purse, quite oblivious to the fact Seiya was by now standing rather close to her. It wasn't until she stepped away from the desk to leave the office, that she nearly bumped into the dark-haired man. She did gasp, but only with an apology. Seiya shrugged his shoulders, signaling her that it was okay, a playful sparkle in his eyes. And he waited. And waited. His sexy smile was slowly starting to waiver, as he saw no spark of recognition in her eyes. Instead a frown was starting to appear on her face, as she asked herself why a stranger was standing in her way like that. Seiya sensed that he was losing her, and opened his mouth to say something – but what? Start blubbering already? Make me feel like the superstar that I am? More seconds of silence and confused stares passed, and he felt the awkwardness of the situation press in on him.

"Ah, sorry," he muttered, finally stepping out of her way and towards Dr. Meioh, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He could distinctly hear a rather too familiar male snicker from the waiting room area.

"Mr. Kou, I suppose? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Setsuna Meioh." She was holding out his hand towards him, a small twinkle in her eyes. Seiya shook her hand but only mumbled a reply; he couldn't shake the feeling that she had already started diagnosing him as she had watched this short and strange interaction.

"Pleas step in," the doctor said, holding the door open for him. As he did so, he couldn't help but turn around once more to look after the girl who had so unabashedly ignored his fame and sexy smile. And it seemed that she still was. She, unlike him, had not turned around once more, and was now simply waiting for the elevator to arrive, playing with a brooch that was pinned to her blouse.

It wasn't until a ching announced the elevator's arrival that he snapped out of it, and finally did take up the doctor's offer to enter her office. Her head was cocked; she had clearly been studying his face the whole time. And he did not like the look on her face now, as if she was reading him as easily as an open book. He raised his eyebrows cockily at her, smirking his sexy smirk before he sauntered into her office. That had been nothing but a slip. He sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Crazy

Chapter 2

By Greta

* * *

"Bastards," Seiya muttered, as he slammed down a small glass hard on the counter of the bar he was sitting at, before motioning towards the bartender to fill up his glass once more. The liquid burned its way down his throat and he grimaced, but he barely waited a minute before he downed the new shot in one gulp.

Seiya had been sitting at the counter of this bar for about half an hour now, downing one shot after the other, and he was starting to feel the consequences. His head felt light and it felt considerably harder to keep his eyes open than it had when he had entered the bar. The bar was a dingy little thing a few streets away from the good part of town the doctor's office was located in. His first session with Dr. Meioh had been completely useless, just as he had predicted. They had sat there, chit chatting about nothing of importance as far as he was concerned, him successfully blocking any attempt she made to get under his skin. He was sure he must have irritated her, sitting across from her in a very macho like pose, legs apart, one arm draped lazily across the sofa's back as he seized her up, his sexy smirk never once leaving his lips. He wanted to get the message across that he saw no use in this apart from maybe a quick flirt. Not that he was opposed to anything more than that. Dr. Meioh was a very attractive woman. Although she had been wearing a loose cardigan, he had sneaked more than one glimpse of her cleavage, which still looked nice for her age. For she was definitely a good bit older than he was. But then, a cougar was something he had been meaning to try out anyway.

Seiya shook his head to try and stop the direction his thoughts were heading in. He had been cursing about Taiki and Yaten after all, and was still angry with them. For when he had finally walked out of that office, he realized that they had just left him there. Of course getting a cab and going home that way was no problem, but he couldn't help but feel a little discarded. If it was so important to them that he pulled his act together, practically dragging him to the doctor's, they could have just as well stayed until the end as well. And so he wasn't going to do them the favor of reappearing home anytime soon.

* * *

"It's almost 10 pm," Taiki said, frowning as he looked up at the large clock that hung over the door that led to their spacious kitchen and dining area.

"Are you worried about him?" Yaten asked. He was sitting on a bar stool by a kitchen island, flipping through a magazine.

"I don't know … Not really, I guess. But I am interested in how it went."

Yaten snorted. "And that's exactly why he's giving us the cold shoulder now. And I don't think he'll be telling us anything anytime soon. Not that I think there will be much to say anyway."

"Oh come on, Dr. Meioh is the best! So many of our other clients recommended her to me!" a young woman chirped in. She was sitting across from Yaten, flipping through a folder with one hand while browsing through her phone's calendar with the other.

"We know, Aino-san," Taiki said as he sipped on a cup of coffee. "I looked her up myself a few days ago. She has good credentials. And I saw that she is specialized in severely traumatized cases."

Yaten snorted at this. "Oh come on, Seiya's been a shithead lately, but he is by all means not severely traumatized."

Taiki shrugged as if to say, well, what do we know.

"Well, It can't be of harm," the blonde haired woman contributed without looking up, now scribbling something down on the papers in front of her.

Yaten, who had not raised his eyes from the magazine he was flipping through during this conversation until now, stopped and looked across the counter at her. His face was serious as he watched the blonde continue her work. His eyes traced her face, the emotion behind them unreadable. He sighed deeply before he turned away from her again. "Of course it won't be of harm, Mina … ko," he said, tacking on the last syllable as if in afterthought.

At this Minako also looked up, studying his face for a few seconds as well. Laying down her pen, she slowly tucked away her phone and started gathering her papers.

"Well boys, I think I have everything I need for today. Here's your schedule for the next few days, I'll be back next week at the latest," she said, as she got up from the stool, now stuffing all her things into an expensive looking, bright orange leather bag. She smoothed down her tight pencil skirt and blouse as she hoisted the bag unto her shoulder, flashing them a V-sign with a large grin on her face. "As always, it's been a pleasure. If you need anything, call me at the agency."

"Alright, we will. Have a save trip home, Aino-san," Taiki said, as he accompanied her to the door where she put on her black stilettos, balancing herself with one hand which she held up against a wall. She winked at the tall young man, before grabbing her coat and closing the door behind her.

Yaten had remained seated in the kitchen while she had gotten ready to leave, ignoring it the best he could, staring down at the magazine. But he had stopped turning the pages. Taiki pulled up the chair Minako had sat in, and stared at Yaten.

"Are you alright?" Taiki asked.

"Of course. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Oh come on."

"No, I'm OK, really."

"You know as well as I do that we haven't crashed that hard yet that we can't hire a different manager."

"Stop it, Taiki. Minako is doing a good job and has been there since the beginning, there's no reason to hire someone new," Yaten said, once again starting to browse through the magazine. They sat there like that in silence for several minutes, Yaten flipping through the pages, not really looking at anything, and Taiki leaning on his arms, watching him do so.

"Alright. If you say so. But seriously, Yaten, don't let this become a problem for you or for her or the rest of us. I really don't want to have to drag you to therapy as well at some point."

Yaten only chuckled at this.

* * *

A gasp, a flailing of arms, a small half-swallowed shriek.

Seiya smirked. Losing their touch? Ruining the band? As if. He heard the women chattering nervously behind him but kept his back turned to them, his finger tracing the rim of the glass which had held his … well, he had long lost count, but it had held a lot of wodka already that night. He flexed the muscles in his arms, as he waited for their approach. He knew exactly what was coming, how this was going to turn out. The nervous first tap on his shoulder, the drunken flirting, the inevitable request for some twisted fan souvenir (he wondered just how many boobs he had autographed already in his life), and more often than not, at the end of it a girl clinging to him passionately as she couldn't believe her luck that she was actually making out with the famous Seiya Kou. He knew how to react to them and just what to say in all the right places, he knew which buttons he needed to press for what. It felt like a well-practiced dance. He felt he could practically count down to it. Three, two, one …

"Uhm, excuse me," a throaty whisper made him swivel his head to the right. "Are you … Are you Seiya Kou?"

And he grinned.

* * *

Birds were chirping as he unlocked the door to their apartment, not caring to keep the noise of his keys banging against the door down. Heck, he hoped that he would wake them up from the sweetest of all dreams. For all the pleasant surprises of the night, he had still not forgotten the day before, and was still pissed.

But the sun had beat him to it, Taiki at least was already up and about and only raised one eyebrow at him from behind the morning's newspaper.

"Had a good night?" was all he asked.

"Better than yours, that's for sure," Seiya sneered.

"Fucked another complete stranger then? Oh yes, I'm so envious of you," Taiki said dryly before turning back towards his newspaper.

Seiya gaped at him for a moment, before shaking his head. Jealous bastard. But he decided against continuing this banter, heading towards the bathroom door. Oh glorious shower, I'm on my way. But before he had reached the door, Taiki spoke up once more.

"So, how was it yesterday?"

"Amazing. Sex with me always is."

"You know what I'm talking about," Taiki snapped, as he laid down the newspaper on the table in front of him. "How was Dr. Meioh?"

"Like I said, amazing."

Seiya saw that he had succeeded in irritating Taiki at least for a moment. His eyes stared at him incredulously. But it didn't last for long.

"Dr. Meioh is an extremely intelligent woman. She would never fall for your crap."

"Oh, you don't know me."

"Well, if you two really did get it on last night, she is definitely more of a party animal than you are. I was on the phone with her half an hour ago, and she sounded nothing like the crap you look like today."

"What? You phoned her?" Seiya asked indignantly. "Aren't therapy sessions supposed to be private?"

"Don't worry. She didn't say anything about your session. I only asked when your next appointment is."

Crap.

"I heard you just fled the office and conveniently forgot to make a new appointment for next week. But no worries, I took care of that for you."

"Oh fuck this, Taiki! I'm not going there again! It was a complete waste of time."

"Well, tough luck. You're going again the day after tomorrow. And don't worry, this time I'll even stay to drive you back home at the end," Taiki said, a small smile playing at his lips, before he turned back to his coffee and newspaper, decidedly ignoring the stream of swear words being thrown into his directions, the heavy stomping of angry feet across the floor and the banging of a door that made his cup rattle.

* * *

"So, Kou-san," Dr. Meioh started.

"Like I said, it's Seiya. Everyone calls me Seiya."

"Alright, Seiya-san. Tell me what you want to talk about today."

"Listen, Meioh-san. We both know that I am here against my will. There's nothing wrong with me. I don't need a shrink."

"Your brothers seem to think so."

"They're not my brothers. I don't know why everyone keeps believing that we are."

Dr. Meioh stared at him, her hands wrapped around her right knee, waiting for him to continue. But Seiya only rolled his eyes, staring fixedly at a painting on the wall opposite from where he was sitting. It was a large painting of crashing waves in a flurry of countless hues of blue, grey and silver, and some odd dapples of gold and red. Was it supposed to have a soothing affect on the patients? He didn't know what to make of it.

As they sat there in silence, he noticed the sound of a clock ticking away steadily somewhere, a sound he simply could not stand. More to drown out its noise than anything else he spoke up once more.

"Who painted that painting?"

"It's from Michiru Kaioh. She's a very talented young woman. She's a violinist and an artist. Do you like it?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know why your two friends wanted us to start meeting?"

"Of course I know why, it's just that it has nothing to do with me being mentally ill. I'm perfectly fine!" he practically yelled at her. The doctor did not reply to this, her magenta eyes fixed on him. "I'm perfectly fine," he repeated once more, forcing his voice to be calm.

"No one said that you aren't. Not only the mentally ill need someone to talk to from time to time."

"But I don't need you just so I can have someone to talk to either, there's enough people in my life! I mean, I'm famous, everyone knows me. If I feel like having a conversation I can just turn to the next best person who happens to be standing beside me at that moment."

She smiled softly at this. "But you can't really talk about everything with a complete stranger from the street."

"So what? You're a complete stranger to me as well."

"That's true. Do you want to get to know each other a bit better? How about you tell me some things about yourself?"

"Oh come on, Meioh-san, what a cheap trick. Do you think I'll open up just like that?" he asked, smirking, his arms crossed against his chest. "I'm Seiya Kou, 24 years old, singer and lead guitarist in a band called the Three Lights."

"That's nothing that I didn't know already."

"Well, it will have to do."

But the doctor did not seem rattled at all, only smiled at him once more. "Alright." She seemed to have no problem with his behaviour whatsoever. "I have time."

* * *

Seiya felt like a wet towel once he finally left the doctor's office. Meioh-san really knew what she was doing. The rest of their hour had passed with him dodging her questions and just barely managing not to let anything slip that would help her in doing her work. But it had gotten more and more exhausting as the minutes passed by, and she had managed to rile him up more than once.

"Alright, Seiya-san. I'll see you again next week. Oh and you don't have to find a date with Megumi, Taiki-san already took care of that."

"Of course he did," Seiya muttered as he turned away from the receptionist's desk towards the clothes stand to pick up his jacket.

"Tsukino-san, I'll be with you in a moment. I just need to make another phone call," Dr. Meioh said, smiling at a young woman sitting in the waiting room. She nodded at the older women in response. Seiya hadn't noticed her at first as he had made his way out of the doctor's office. It was the same girl he had seen the last time he had been here - there was just no forgetting a hairdo like that.

She looked a little uncomfortable on the large white leather chair she was sitting in, a small pink knapsack in the shape of a rabbit on her lap. She was wearing what looked like a school uniform, even though he couldn't help but feel that she was too old for that by now. She did look younger than him, but not really so much that she still went to school. Dangling his jacket over his right shoulder he sauntered over to her, his free hand stuck deeply into the pocket of his jeans.

"Hey there, Odango Atama," he said, as he sat down in the chair beside her.

She looked startled at being addressed like that, but only for a moment. A small frown started building on her lips, and she clasped her bunny knapsack tightly to her.

"What did you just call me?"

"Odango Atama. Oh come on, it fits you," he said, grinning boyishly.

"But that's not my name," she said.

"Well, I should hope not."

"Why? What would be wrong with it? Do you have a problem with my hair?" she asked, her eyes narrowed, her posture stiff.

"Whoa, never mind," Seiya said, surprised at her distinctively vicious tone. Why was he even bothering with her? He hadn't spared another thought for her after ha had last seen her, and she seemed to have no interest in him either.

Oh, right.

She really did not seem to be interested in him. Seiya, who had wanted to stand up already to leave, sat down again abruptly.

"Say, Odango Atama," he started, drawing out the two words on purpose. "Don't you know who I am? Other girls would be glad if I called them that."

"Why would they be glad that you made fun of them?"

"Well, it's not every day that a superstar pays attention to you."

"Oh," the girl said simply, and oh so neutrally. Still no gasp of recognition, no sorry, I didn't recognize you, no embarrassed silence. She seemed to absorb what he had said as a simple fact, nothing more and nothing less, and definitely not as something to get worked up about.

"Are you a superstar then?"

"Wait, wait. You really don't know me?"

"Should I?"

"Why … I – I mean – I'm Seiya Kou!" he said at last, not saying it as sexily as he usually did.

"OK." There was that neutral tone again.

The click of the doctor's door made both of them look up. The young woman grabbed her bunny bag, and walked over to the doctor without another glance in Seiya's direction.


	3. Chapter 3

Crazy

Chapter 3

By Greta

* * *

He was running, running, running as fast as he could. His chest hurt and felt as if it wanted to explode, his heart beating so hard that he had to grip at his chest, clawing at the irritating thing, urging it to slow down. His mouth tasted of iron and he could feel the bile rising in his throat.

But there seemed to be no escaping. A smell of olives wafted around him, and he could see something red creeping towards him. From afar it looked like vines were creeping towards him, blood red vines steadily making their way towards him. But as they got closer he could see that it was hair, real, live human hair inching its way towards him. He yelled in horror as he started running again. But there was no way to turn. He was surrounded by it on every side.

Somewhere off in the distance he heard a soft, warm laughter. It seemed to be carried towards him on a wind that grew stronger and stronger, whipping at his long black hair. With every moment that it grew stronger the laughter seemed to grow louder and louder as well, echoing in his ears.

No, no, no, no, no. No more of this, he thought to himself. Kneeling down, his hands pressed against his ears, he started yelling to himself to drown out the noise.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Seiya, stop it!" a panicked voice said harshly as a hand slapped him across the face. Seiya's eyes flew open and he pushed himself away from his mattress with a gasp, his breath shallow and much too fast.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! Calm down, everything's OK!" Yaten said in a panicked voice, shaking him by the shoulders, forcing Seiya to look him in the eyes. Yaten's green, cat-like eyes held real concern as they studied his face intently. "Everything's OK."

Taiki entered the room, holding a glass of water and a damp towel. He too sat down besides Seiya, pressing the cool cloth against his sweaty forehead, handing him the glass of water, which Seiya drank greedily.

"What just happened, Seiya?"

"It was just a bad dream," he mumbled after he had drowned the water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, before dropping back on to his back, his hands at his forehead.

"Some dream. You were screaming to bring the house down."

"I'm sorry if I disturbed your beauty sleep," Seiya mumbled.

"No, seriously, Seiya. It was worrisome. You wouldn't stop for minutes," Taiki said, eyeing him worriedly. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing," he said. "Zombies. Monsters. Bad sex," he continued, as he saw their unbelieving faces. But of course those words didn't do much to change their expressions.

"Well if you don't want to tell us, maybe it's something you can talk about with Meioh-san?" Taiki asked, knowing that it was no use to try and push him to an answer. Seiya was stubborn as hell.

"Yeah, right," Seiya snorted, covering his eyes with his arms. "Really, I'm fine, just go back to bed. Thanks for the water."

Yaten shrugged and got up from the bed, shuffling out of the room and into the direction of his own bedroom, Taiki soon following his lead. Seiya held his breath, focusing on the cool wet of the towel that was resting on his forehead, waiting for the click of his door being closed.

Of course he knew what he'd been dreaming about. It hadn't been the first time he had dreamt of her, but it had been some time. So she decided to come back to his memories with a bang, creeping him out and leaving him screaming like a baby? How lovely.

* * *

Seiya had not been able to find sleep again that night. He had no desire to start off from where he had left in dreamland, and he was rather embarrassed about literally screaming his friends out of their beds. So he only napped for a few more hours, his mind jerking him awake every time he was close to slipping off to sleep once more.

He had finally surrendered to the day once the sun had started creeping up on the horizon and into his room. He had no clue when he had last gotten up at an unearthly hour like this. Even Taiki was still asleep.

The past week had not been one of his best. Their agency had rather unabashedly told them that they would not renew their contract if something didn't change fast. His meetings with Dr. Meioh were getting more and more trying. And then there had been her of course. Seiya wasn't stupid; he knew exactly why his subconscious had chosen to present him with a dream like that. After they had come home from their meeting with the agency he had slumped down grumpily on the sofa, ready to mindlessly watch television for the rest of the day. And all of a sudden, there she was. The woman who had ripped out his heart nearly two yours ago – supermodel and aspiring movie star, Kakyuu Hime. His eyes widened in horror, before he threw the remote control at the flat-screen with as much force as he could muster. It was a wonder the thing didn't break.

So, it seemed that she had returned to Japan. It had been two years since she had left for America to pursue her career, leaving him behind to pine after her. And their break-up hadn't been pretty.

Having no desire to stay within in the confining walls of their apartment, he had put on comfortable baggy jeans and an old sweater, having to dig them out of the furthest corner of his closet, and had gone out to aimlessly wander the streets. And that's what he was still doing, as his minds wandered back time after time back to Kakyuu. Once he had realized what he was doing, he always grumbled to himself, forcing his thoughts to go elsewhere, but it was no use. He felt like he was riding a merry-go-round, only that it wasn't so very merry.

It wasn't until his stomach rumbled loudly that he looked up at his surroundings and really took in where he was for the first time that morning. He had been up and about for what, an hour or two at the least, aimlessly placing one foot in front of the other, hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, sunglasses on his nose, the sweater's hoodie pulled deep into his face. For once, he really had no desire to be recognized by someone.

As he studied his surroundings, he couldn't recognize a thing, slowly realizing that he didn't have a clue where he had wandered off to. But then again, Tokyo was just so unbelievably big, and he really was a mess at finding his way about in the city. Yaten had once joked that the only possible answer for this was that Seiya was actually from another planet and only here to visit.

Seiya sighed as his stomach rumbled once more. He'd just grab something from the nearest store he could find and get a cab back home. But as he rummaged around in the pockets of his pants and sweater his heart sank a little. Oh shit. Just where was his wallet? Had he really left the goddamn thing at home? He did find some money tucked away in the back pocket of his jeans at least, but it was nowhere enough for a cab ride.

Groaning, he turned on his heels and started retracing his footsteps.

* * *

It wasn't until he passed the Hiwakawa Shrine, that he finally recognized a landmark. By this time, the sun had fully risen, birds chirping cheerily at him. The Hiwakawa Shrine wasn't that far away from the area of town they lived in anymore, and Seiya sighed in relief upon seeing it. Now that he'd wandered around two for nearly hours, decidedly hungry for a good part of it, he could feel just how exhausted the past night had really left him. He really needed to sit down for a moment at least. He saw that there was a large park adjoining the Shrine and decided to try his luck there.

As he strolled through the park, his sneakers kicking at the gravelly path, his mind wandered back to Kakyuu once more. Her smell, the sound of her laughter, the unearthly beauty of her hair, it had all seemed so real. So fucking real. Clenching his fingers into fists, he kicked at the ground hard, sending gravel flying.

"Hey! Stop that!" A voice called out towards him.

Seiya looked up from his sullen reverie to see a girl sitting on a park bench not far away from him. A girl, with the strangest hairdo he had ever seen. Seiya couldn't help but groan inwardly. Seriously? Her again?

The girl had stood up from the park bench, making the pink bunny knapsack she was carrying with her once more topple on to its back, as it had been leaning against her legs. One of her hands was stretched out in front of her and looked to be holding a small pile of grain, obviously meant for the two large, black ravens that were circling not too far above them. Seiya seemed to have scared them off into the air.

"Oh, sorry, Odango Atama," Seiya said without afterthought, ready to walk on by.

"Oh, it's you then again," she said, recognizing the nickname he had chosen for her. She didn't seem to be too surprised at this. "They were just about to eat from my hand, too," she continued, sighing as she sat down once more, emptying the handful of grain on to the ground. "I've been trying to get them to do it for ages."

"I said, I'm sorry."

"Yes, I know, I heard you."

Seiya couldn't help but stop in his tracks to stare at her. What a strange girl. He felt like he should just leave it at that, like he should just walk on and find a park bench of his own where he could wallow in his solitude in peace. But there was something about this girl.

"Can I sit down with you?" he asked her after a moment of hesitance. She just shrugged in reply. And so they just sat there in silence for a few moments, something Seiya that was just no good at.

"So, what is an Odango Atama like you doing here at this time of the day?" he asked, deciding to break the silence. Taking off his hoodie and sunglasses, he turned to look at her with a grin.

"Why do you keep calling me that? I have a real name too, you know."

"Oh, and what is it?"

"Tsukino Usagi."

"Well, forgive me, Tsukino Usagi-san," he said, humouring her. "I'll only call you Odango Atama from time to time then," he continued, tacking it on as if in afterthought.

She turned to frown at him, her lips in a pout. They sat there, looking at each other for a few seconds.

"Don't make fun of a girl on her birthday," she finally said sullenly.

Strangely enough, Seiya really did feel a bit bad as she said that. "Oh, it's your birthday? Well, congratulations then. Happy birthday," he said, smiling at her.

"Thank you," she said, her pout melting away into a grin.

"So how are you celebrating today? Going out with your friends?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't have any friends. Well, not ones I could go out with. People would stare if I took Luna and I don't think Rei would really like that sort of thing," she said slowly, but not sounding sorry for herself at all. One finger was at her chin as she told him this, her eyes focused on some point in the distance.

"Ah," was all Seiya managed to say, slightly taken aback.

"And by the way," she said, turning back to look at him. "I know who you are now. Luna told me."

"Oh, really?" he said, giving her his best Seiya-Kou-superstar grin. "Is she a fan then, this Luna?"

"Hm, I don't know if she's really a fan. But she says she likes listening to your music on the radio when she's dozing in the sun."

Seiya wasn't sure how to reply to this as a strange mental image of a fan, lying in a spot of sunlight on the ground with their music in the background, crossed his mind. The conversation stalled once more after this, and Seiya leant back against the bench, closing his eyes to doze in the sun himself for a bit. From time to time he opened one eye to squint at this odd girl sitting next to him. She had picked up some of the grain again, motioning for the ravens to come closer once more.

"So," Seiya started after some time again. "Who is this Luna then? Do you go to school with her?"

At this Usagi laughed. Her laughter sounded like that of a child, uncontrolled and gurgling with warmth. It spread from her mouth to every corner of her face and seemed painfully genuine to Seiya. "No of course not! How would she do that? She's a cat."

"A cat?" Seiya asked in disbelief. "But … But you said she told you about me?"

"She did. She said that your name is Seiya Kou and that you're part of a famous band. And that you have a bad reputation. And that all men are wolves." Usagi replied, ticking the things she was saying off on her fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world that her cat had talked to her.

"Did she now," Seiya mumbled.

Usagi only nodded at this, smiling. "And she also said that she liked Yaten more," Usagi added, giggling.

"What? Why is that?"

"Hm, I don't know. I think he reminds her of Artemis."

"Artemis?"

"Yeah, it was another cat, a good friend of hers when we were at the asylum," Usagi said. As soon as the words had left her mouth, her eyes widened in horror at what she had said, one hand clamping over her mouth. Her eyes swivelled back to Seiya, who was indeed having to concentrate pretty hard on not showing too much emotion upon hearing this revelation.

But something seemed to have clicked into place. He had met the girl at a psychiatrist after all. Something was decidedly off about her age – she seemed like a small girl and a young woman at once. And she had stayed at an asylum at some point. So she truly was crazy. No wonder she believed that cats could talk. But he couldn't help but feel a little bad for her as she sat there. Once he had caught her eyes she had very quickly looked away, staring fixedly at the toes of her shoes, her posture slouched. Even if she was crazy, she didn't seem to be able to do much harm.

"So," Seiya said, his voice a bit softer than it had been before. "What are you doing on your special day today then?"

Usagi didn't reply for a long time. Her hands had reached for her bunny bag again and she was hugging it to herself tightly. "I don't know. Nothing really. I guess the same thing I do every day."

Seiya frowned at this. "What about your family? Aren't you going to celebrate with them?"

"I don't have family anymore. My parents died a long time ago."

Seiya sighed, as he leaned back against the park bench once more, his arms crossed before his chest. Now wasn't this conversation going swell. He was starting to feel like a shit already, even if it wasn't his fault that all her answers to his mindless chitchat were depressing. Hell, how should he have known?

"I never met my real parents either, you know," he said.

Where the hell had that come from? It was the truth, but he had never bothered with the truth much. And he hadn't talked about this with anyone in ages, least of all with some stranger. But something about her slouched posture had tugged at his heartstrings, and the words had been out of his mouth before he had known it.

"Oh no," she gasped, her eyes filled with sadness as she turned to look at him. "What happened?" she asked with heart-felt sympathy.

"I don't know. I guess they just left me at some point when I was still really small. I don't remember them. I was adopted when I was still pretty young though."

"So you found a family again," she said, smiling. There was no trace of envy in her face.

"Well, yeah … Sort of," Seiya mumbled. Now, this really was enough, he told himself. She didn't need to know everything there was to him in full detail. Some twisted part of his mind laughed evilly at this. Weren't you the one who was appalled at the fact that she had no clue about you? Weren't you the one who wanted her to know you? _Oh, shut the fuck up,_ he countered.

"So," he said loudly, smacking his hands together once loudly, before he crossed his legs, ankle to knee, one arm slung over the back of the bench, before turning to look at her again. "What about that … Rei I think you said? Does she like listening to our music while dozing in the sun as well?" he asked, trying to humour her.

At this Usagi burst into laughter once more. She was clutching at her stomach as giggles racked her body, her eyes crunched up in joy. He couldn't help but grin as well – her laugh was truly infectious.

"No, of course not! Oh just imagine it, Rei lying in the sun just like a cat."

"So she's not a cat?"

"No, no. She's a priestess at the Hiwakawa temple," Usagi said, pointing in its direction. "They have a boarding house there as well. It's where I live now. And Rei runs the boarding house. She's nice, but she's also very strict."

"So no partying with her then either?" Seiya asked playfully, winking at her.

"No, I guess not. But I don't mind," Usagi said, and it sounded like the truth.

At this, Seiya stood up abruptly. "Well, I can't just let your birthday pass by like that," he said. "Have you eaten breakfast already?"

Usagi nodded.

"Hm, too bad. I haven't yet, and I'm starving. You're not by any chance hungry again already anyway, are you?"

At this Usagi grinned. "I'm always hungry."

"Well good. Get up then, I'm taking you to get some birthday cake."


	4. Chapter 4

Crazy

Chapter 4

By Greta

* * *

Seiya sipped on a cup of very strong, black coffee contentedly, as he bemusedly watched the girl sitting opposite from him leave through the menu that lay open on the table in front of her. She had been doing this for almost 15 minutes already, her mind changing as soon as she had declared that she finally knew what she wanted to have.

"If you can't decide, just take a bit of everything."

Usagi's head snapped up from the menu to look at him, her face full of delight. "Really? Do you think I can do that?"

"Well, order whatever you want, it's on me," Seiya said, winking at her.

When he had said that he'd take her out for cake, Usagi had jumped up in delight, taking up his offer without a second thought, saying that she knew just the place to go to. Swinging her arms, she had literally dragged him out of the park and down the streets of Tokyo, until Seiya once again lost track of where in the city they actually were. They had ended up at a quaint, decidedly European-looking café, full of mismatching, rickety tables and chairs, adorned with brightly coloured, fluffy pillows. The walls of the café were lined with bookcases, filled with not only books but also countless CDs and plants and all sorts of knick-knacks.

Luckily, they seemed to have arrived just after people had finished eating their breakfast there but before anyone had arrived for lunch, which meant that they had the place practically to themselves. For when he had offered to take Usagi out to eat, Seiya had not really thought much further ahead, forgetting that eating cake, with a batshit crazy girl, dressed nothing like his usual self-confident, arrogant self, was not really something he needed a fan, or heaven forbid, a paparazzi, to see.

"But that wouldn't be very ladylike, would it?" she asked in a low voice beneath her breath, leaning across the menu and towards him.

"Oh well, who cares? There's no one here to see us. And I won't judge you on it."

Usagi smiled at this.

"And hey, you can take the leftovers with you and share some with that Luna and Rei of yours."

With this, Seiya had thoroughly convinced her. Usagi's hand shot up into the air, waving dramatically at the waitress, signalling for her to come over. The waitress was a young, very tall woman, her brunette hair done up in a high ponytail. A little white lace cap was pinned in place on top of her head, matching the white lace apron she wore. She shot Seiya a dreamy smile, as she reached into the pocket of her striped skirt to retrieve a pad of paper to write down Usagi's seemingly endless order on.

Earlier, after they had entered the café and he had sat Usagi down at a table, Seiya had sauntered over to the same young woman, conjuring his sexiest, warmest, most charming smile for her, as he pulled off his dark pilot sunglasses. It had definitely done the trick as he had explained his predicament, about how he had forgotten his wallet, and yet had promised the girl a birthday cake, and would come back to pay her later that afternoon. She had only nodded at everything he had said, a gooey smile on her face.

The effect of his mild flirt with her still seemed to linger, as the young woman wrote down item after item on her paper pad without comment, her eyes glancing back towards him again and again, her smile never wavering. In her reverie, it took her a few seconds to realize it that Usagi had finally stopped ordering.

"Will that be everything for you?"

"Yes. Ooh, no, and a large chocolate milkshake!" Usagi added, clapping her hands together in delight. She snapped the menu shut, handing it back to the waitress.

"Aren't you hungry?" Usagi asked him, as he had not ordered anything apart from the coffee so far.

"I thought I was … But I'm not really in the mood for anything sweet right now," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Usagi said, wide-eyed. "Oh, we should have gone someplace else. You said you were hungry in the park. I even heard your stomach growl."

"Don't be sorry, Odango. It was my idea to go get some cake for you after all," he replied, grinning. "And anyway, I'll just try a bit from all those things you ordered."

Usagi's mouth shot open, as she narrowed her eyes, a crease appearing on her forehead, as if to say, no way, that cake is mine, to him. But the words never left her mouth, as she clearly remembered that it would not be very polite of her to do so. She cleared her throat daintily instead in a very old-fashioned manner that looked straight out of an old movie. Seiya couldn't help but laugh out loud at this. This girl was fascinating to watch – she carried every single one of her emotions on her sleeve, easy as day to see.

"What? What?" she asked him.

"Oh, nothing. Never mind," he said, still chuckling. "So I take it you don't like sharing your food much?"

"No, no, it wasn't that," she said hastily, her cheeks flushing red. "Of course I don't mind sharing!" she mumbled, her tone unconvincing.

Seiya just shook his head, laughing once more. The waitress returned during this, setting a large glass of milkshake in front of Usagi, who smacked her lips at this and noisily started gulping it down through a straw.

Seiya watched her do so for a few moments in silence. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done anything as … well, normal as this. During the past years, his life had been one constant, on-going, never-ending party. He thought he would never tire of that life, of the excitement each new night held, the thrill of music pulsating through his veins, amongst other, less innocent things, women at his side, being idolized for everything had had and was. And yet … there was something oddly refreshing about this situation he was finding himself in.

"So tell me more about that Luna of yours."

"Well, Luna is my best friend, we've been together for the past six years. She can be a bit bossy at times, but she is very kind," Usagi said in between slurps of milkshake, happy to oblige him with more information on her cat.

"Ah, is she now."

"Do you have any pets?"

Seiya snorted at this. "A pet? In our apartment? God no, the poor animal wouldn't stand a chance with us. Our lifestyle doesn't really comply with that."

"Oh right, I forgot, you're in a band."

Seiya nodded absently. There, she'd gone and forgotten all about it again. Maybe he was losing his touch after all? "So … And you're really telling me you've never heard of us before, even though we had three number one hits so far?"

"I don't really pay much attention to music."

"But we've also been in commercials and movies, a few years back we even had our own TV show."

"I used to live at a place without television," she said.

"Ah, at that asylum you mentioned earlier?"

Usagi's eyes widened in shock as he mentioned that place. She had obviously hoped that he had either not heard her mention it earlier in the park or else already forgotten about it. Bad move, Seiya, he said to himself, as he watched her eyes jump nervously from side to side as if in fear that someone might attack her at any moment. Finally she slowly shook her head and mumbled something under her breath that sounded distinctively like "No, not there."

Seiya was rather glad that the waitress chose that moment to reappear once more, staggering under the weight of an enormous platter, which held nearly everything the menu of the café offered. But the waitress didn't place it in front eager of Usagi, she pushed it to the middle of the table, before placing a small plate in front of Usagi. On it stood a miniature cake, covered in pink frosting and sugar roses. A single candle that had been stuck into its center burned merrily.

"Happy birthday from everyone at the Flower Hurricane café," the waitress said, as she straightened up again, a warm smile on her face. "Go on, blow out the candle and make a wish."

"Oh, … Oh, oh thank you so, so much!" Usagi said, her eyes wide, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "Thank you, thank you, … Mako-chan," she added, glimpsing at the nametag that was pinned to the girl's shirt. The tall women blinked in surprise at this informal use of her name, but returned the smile, before bowing and walking off to the kitchen area of the café once more.

A happy smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear on Usagi's face as she studied her small cake and watched the flame flicker.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, looking up at him and straight into his eyes.

"Hey, the cake was none of my doing, don't thank me."

"But if you hadn't offered to take me I'd never have gotten it," she said, folding her hands on the table. "And it's my first real birthday cake after all. It means a lot to me. So thank you."

Seiya's eyes narrowed at this. Just what had happened in this girl's life that she had never even received a birthday cake so far? Before he had found a way to put his thoughts into words, she had spoken up once more, her eyes still fixed on the candle that was flickering close to her face.

"Well, not quite. I can remember my parents celebrating my birthday with me and my little brother, but it's been so long … The memory is all blurred already. But this will help me refresh it."

"And … And how did you celebrate your birthdays after … that?"

"He never celebrated my real birthday with me," she mumbled under her breath, stirring her milkshake with the straw sticking out from the glass.

Did Seiya even dare ask who "he" was? He found he didn't. And really, what business of his was it anyway?

It was then that the strangeness of the situation really pressed in on him. What the hell was he doing here anyway? Eating cake with some strange girl he had no intentions whatsoever of getting into his bed? When had that last happened? Never, exactly. He was Seiya Kou, handsome superstar, without a care in the world. Well, almost without a care in the world. And he wanted to keep it that way, thank you very much. He felt absolutely no need or desire to weigh himself down with someone else's problems on top of everything else.

Thankfully Usagi didn't pursue the subject any further either, visibly shaking herself as if to rid herself from all bad thoughts.

"Alright then! How do I do this? Just blow out the candle and make a wish?"

"And you can close your eyes while doing so."

And that was just what she did.

* * *

It was a few weeks until Seiya saw her again, and he didn't really fret much over their encounter during that time, strange as it had been. But something about her … lingered.

He first noticed it when going to the CD release party of some new idol band their agency hoped was going to be the next big thing, a girl band called the Amazoness Quartet. Seiya had felt no real desire to go to the party in the first place, knowing that all their managers and producers would be there, ready to pester him about the whereabouts of new songs once more, a request he could still not fulfill. But Taiki wouldn't listen to his whining and had basically dragged him there, and once there kept a stern eye on him so that he wouldn't sidle off to the bar straight away.

So Seiya had been in a very foul mood to start with. And the strange thing was, that nothing seemed to be able to lift it that night. Even once he finally had a strong drink on the rocks in his hand, and a girl at his side, he didn't feel the usual thrill of being amidst the rich and famous, the powerful and wealthy of Tokyo set in. And that girl next to him … He faintly recalled her face, dimly remembering that she was some model their agency was also presenting. They were sitting on a large, comfortable sofa, she pressed up against his side; her legs were pulled up on the sofa, making her already short skirt slide up some more. He could see her cleavage all too clearly as she pressed up against him, her elbow propped up on the sofa, her head resting on her arm, a constant giggle on her lips. But it was all so fake, so horribly fake. Her eyes held no emotion, and whilst her lips were pretty as they curled upwards, there was nothing else to it. No spark, no real joy, nothing.

It was a strangely upsetting sight to Seiya, and he couldn't help but find her incredibly irritating and dull. He nodded once in a while as she chattered on about nothing of importance, the fingers of her free hand tracing the muscles in his lower arm. Downing his glass, he mustered a small smile for her, before getting up abruptly, almost making her topple over.

She stared after his retreating figure, her mouth agape.

But Seiya had had enough of this. Something about this whole evening was simply straining and the urge to just get away from it all was steadily rising inside of him. He thought about telling Taiki and Yaten that he would be on his way, but decided against it, seeing that the coast was clear and that he could make a quiet getaway. Slipping on his black shoes, he picked up his leather jacket and let the door slam behind him.

With a sigh of relief he stepped out into the cool night air, and breathed in deeply, the cold filling him with new clarity. As he pulled on his jacket over the light dress-shirt he was wearing, he heard something rattle inside one of its pockets. Searching through them, he found a round golden locket he had forgotten all about. As he had promised Makoto, the waitress at the café, he had returned later on that day he had taken Usagi out to eat and paid for it all, though Makoto had refused to accept any money for the birthday cake. Instead she had handed him the brooch he was holding now, saying that Usagi must have left it at the table.

He couldn't really tell if it was real jewelry or just some old children's toy. It was a round, golden locket, though it was obvious that it had only been painted gold, as the colour was chipped and scratched in many places. There was a large golden crescent moon painted on its front, surrounded by small, cheap crystals of different colours. Seeing hinges, he tried prying it open, but failed, as the thing wouldn't budge. He had completely forgotten about it and about returning it to Usagi, having stuffed their strange encounter and everything that reminded him of it away to the farthest corner of his mind. But then, it wasn't as if he had had a chance to give it back to her so far either. Their first two encounters at Dr. Meioh's seemed to have been nothing else but chance encounters, for whenever he visited now there was always some different, unknown patient sitting in the waiting room.

Turning the brooch around in his palm several times, we wondered what to do with it. Who knew when he would meet her again at the psychiatrists? Or dared he ask for a contact address the next time he was at Dr. Meioh's? He found that he didn't, feeling pretty sure that, for one thing, it would not be easy to explain just why he wanted a stranger's contact, and for the other, it probably would not bode too well with Dr. Meioh. She had finally succeeded at creating hairline cracks at his shell, especially interested in his warped sexuality of the past years. He had a feeling that asking for the number of a mentally deranged girl there might actually get him into some real trouble.

But of course, there was the Shrine! She had told him herself that she lived there, hadn't she? He would just go and visit her there, return the brooch, and finally shake himself of the slightly disturbing memories she had left him with.

Perfect.

Seiya smiled, as he stepped towards the street, waving for a cab, the brooch still clasped tightly in one hand.

* * *

"The asshole just stood up and left me!" a woman snarled angrily, slamming a glass down on the stone banister of the large roof garden overlooking the night skyline of Tokyo.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. He just got up … and left. Me!" the woman repeated indignantly, her face angry, her hands crossed over her stately chest. Taiki couldn't help but notice that she was a stunning woman, her perfect figure clad in a tight, very short and very revealing dress. But her green eyes sparkled maliciously and her beautiful mouth was curled into a scowl, making her a rather intimidating figure.

"And I always thought that he was such a womanizer. Everyone keeps saying so," her friend mused.

"What, are you trying to tell me that it's my fault?"

"No, no of course not!"

The angry woman scowled once more, before draining the last dregs of her drink and angrily storming off.

Taiki, who had stepped outside to get some fresh air before the two women had settled down near him, folded his hands across his stomach, staring up at the night sky once more. Not being able to hear the debut CD of the new girl band on repeat one more time, he had fled to the quiet of the roof garden, pulling up two chairs, one to sit down in and the other to put up his legs up on. He had sat there in peaceful silence, staring up at the few stars that managed to resist the light pollution of Tokyo. Looking up at the night sky always had a soothing effect on him.

But the two women had pulled him out of his reverie. Looking down at the expensive watch on his wrist, he felt that it was – finally – late enough for them to get going without looking like they had only come to this party because they had to, even though that was exactly the case. Gathering his things, he walked back down into the loft, where the party was still going strong. It seemed that at least he hadn't been the only one who had had enough of the debut CD – it had been replaced by loud electronic music. People were scattered around the room in small groups, a smell of alcohol and alcohol and the promise of something more lingering in the air sweetly. Only the most beautiful of the present people were dancing in a small group in the middle of the room, conscious of their every move, practiced to perfection. No one looked silly or stupid there.

Spotting Yaten, Taiki walked over to him, leaning close to his ear to make himself audible over the loud music. "I think I'm going to call it a night. How about you?" he yelled.

But Yaten didn't reply, his eyes fixed at some point across the room. Taiki followed his gaze and couldn't help but groan. Minako, her hair pulled up into a sloppy knot, stood there, talking and laughing and obviously having a good time with a tall man. He was built broadly and had a strong, rather tanned face, framed by silver hair that reached his shoulders.

"Who the fuck is he?" Yaten yelled, not caring if anyone else other than Taiki heard him.

"I think it's one of the managers, his name is Kunzite or something," Taiki yelled back. Upon hearing this, Yaten jumped up from the bar stool he had been sitting on, needing a few seconds to regain his balance. He had obviously had had quite a few drinks himself.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," he muttered, loudly enough for Taiki to hear, who only managed to grab him by the shoulders in time and hold him back from storming off.

"Oh no you won't," he said with force, pushing his friend back into a chair. "Go get your things, you're coming home with me as well."

"But … but just look at him! The way he's slobbering all over her! It's disgusting!"

"Yeah, well a fight won't make it any better. And Yaten, be sensible. He's taller than you are. He's probably one of our bosses. You really shouldn't pick a fight with him of all people."

Yaten had continued staring at Minako and Kunzite throughout Taiki's lecture which he quite obviously did not share, his eyes seething as he saw them continue chatting warmly with each other, quite oblivious to the fact that Yaten was on the verge of walking over to them and punching Minako's new suitor straight in the face. He tried to get up once more, this time with more force.

"Stop it – stop it! Will – you – stop – it –" Taiki muttered through clenched teeth as he tried wrestling Yaten back into the chair once more. But the smaller man wouldn't listen. "For God's sake, Yaten, _you_ dumped _her_!"

At this, Yaten's arms dropped to his side, his mouth opening and closing like a fish's, but no sound came out. They stood there like that for a few seconds before the silver-haired man turned on his heel, and walked off into the direction of the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Crazy

Chapter 5

By Greta

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?" a stern voice called out to Seiya as he was about to step over the threshold of a door. He turned around on his heel, sliding his sunglasses down his nose a bit to see the person who had spoken to him so reproachfully more clearly. A very beautiful young woman was standing at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the boarding house of the Hiwakawa Shrine. She was clad in the white and red robe of a priestess, her hands clasped around the handle of a broom she had obviously been meaning to sweep the steps with when she had spotted Seiya.

"Just visiting a friend," he grinned, flashing her a grin.

"This is an all-girls boarding house."

"Yeah, it'll only take a minute," Seiya said, as he lifted his right foot once more to step inside the building.

"_You_ will not enter," the woman snapped at him and stepped up towards him with quick strides. Her long black hair looked like silk as it swished around her graceful frame, but her lilac eyes sparkled maliciously up at him. She even shot out her arm to block the door, giving the whole scene something rather dramatic. Seiya sighed.

"It'll literally be only for a minute. A –" Seiya stalled for a moment. What exactly was Usagi? A girl he had taken out to eat cake once on the spur of the moment because he had felt strangely sorry for her - but how to best rephrase that so it didn't sound quite as strange? He'd just stick with the word friend for now, even though Seiya could by no means associate her with that word. "A friend of mine lives here and forgot something when we met. I just want to give it back to her, that's all."

"This is an all-girls boarding house," the young priestess repeated, her voice still stern. "Men are not allowed inside. Not even the priest of this shrine is."

"Well, can you give it to her then for me?"

"I'm not a messenger."

"Oh come on!" Seiya nearly yelled. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"Wait until she comes out herself," the priestess said, eyeing him levelly.

* * *

As Seiya had found out, there was no use whatsoever in arguing with the priestess. Prying Usagi's room number from her, so that he could just send her the brooch by mail, turned out to be just as impossible. So he had sat down on the curb of a flowerbed opposite the entrance of the boarding house, grumbling loudly enough so that the priestess could hear him easily. She had started sweeping the steps once he had taken his seat, and eyed him critically from time to time, sure never to stray away too far from him so that he couldn't sneak inside at some point after all.

The minutes came and went, but nothing else happened. Seiya sighed. What a way to waste away his day.

But then, it wasn't really as if there was so much else to do for him right now. No promotion or fancy photoshoot was waiting to be held, no exciting event or happening that he needed to grace with his presence that day. Taiki and Yaten had gone off to one of their agency's studios to practice hours ago, Seiya only managing to get out of with a lie. He had said that he needed the quiet of the apartment to help him concentrate as he was writing some new music right now – which was of course nowhere near the truth. But there had been no chance in hell that he would join them, and spend the next hours going over their old songs, practicing chords and melodies he had long grown sick of. For the truth was: he just couldn't hear their old music anymore. It had been two years since they had released their last album, and it hadn't been anywhere as successful as their original debut some five years ago. He had written almost of all the songs himself – Taiki and Yaten were useless at composing or writing lyrics, and they refused to hire a songwriter. Seiya himself didn't want to stoop to that either, but the pressure of being responsible for everything like that weighed heavily on his shoulders. And looking back on that last album, he especially regretted not being able to blame someone else for the mess that it mostly was. It was a gooey, romantic pop-disaster with little to no depth. And then there was the fact that almost every song reminded him of Kakyuu. He had written the music when they had still been together, and every tune brought back a memory he had no use for anymore.

Leaning back on his arms, Seiya closed his eyes, the warm sunlight bright red behind his closed eyelids. He could already feel the skin of his forearms beginning to itch and tingle from the unusual exposure to the summer sunshine. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually sat outside in the sun like this.

"Hello Rei-chan!" a female voice called out cheerfully. Seiya's eyes snapped open at the sound, and he had to blink a few times to get them to focus again. It had been nice, sitting quietly in the warm sun like that.

"Hello, Usagi. Where are you off to?" the dark haired priestess had stopped her sweeping to chat with the girl that had bounded down the steps joyfully and stopped at her side.

"To see Dr. Meioh."

"I see. Be safe," Rei replied, glancing back towards Seiya critically. It wasn't until she did this, that Usagi also glanced back towards him. Her smile faltered a tiny bit, as she cocked her head in his direction.

"Hello Seiya-kun," she greeted him. Seeing that Usagi recognized him, Rei slowly continued sweeping the ground once more, but her gaze remained sceptical.

"Hi there, Odango," Seiya said, pushing himself up from the stone curb. "Here, you forget something last time we met," he said without further ado, holding out the brooch in his right hand towards her.

Usagi's hands flew up to her mouth, her eyes wide, before grabbing the small object and cradling it to her breast. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Where did you find it?"

"Kino-san found it at the café and gave it to me."

Usagi had brushed over the brooch's surface with the rim of her shirt, ridding it of fingerprints and some specks of dust, before pinning it carefully to her shirt. Her smile was one of relief, as she brushed over its surface again and again. As she looked back up at him, Seiya could see that her eyes were watery.

"Thank you so, so much. You don't know what this means to me," she said once more, before reaching out to pull him into a tight hug.

Seiya's eyes widened in surprise as the petite blonde clung to him, unsure of how to react, before deciding to awkwardly pat her on top of one of her buns of hair. She wiped her eyes hastily as she pulled away from a grip that was much stronger than he had anticipated.

"Eh, you're welcome," Seiya mumbled, as he took a step away from her. He was sure that Rei was still watching them and could almost feel the daggers she was sending his way with her eyes. They stood there like that for a few moments, both smiling a bit awkwardly.

"Uhm, I need to get going or I'll be late for my appointment," Usagi finally said.

"Oh yeah, sure, that's OK."

Waving at Rei cheerily in good-bye, Usagi started off into the direction of the large entrance to the grounds of the Hiwakawa Shrine, leaving Seiya to sidle over to her side, not wanting to feel as if he'd just been left to watch her retreating figure.

"So, what is this brooch thing then?"

"Uhm, nothing, really," Usagi answered, sounding unsure.

"But it seems to be important to you."

"It is! It's just … I just can't …. I just don't have a use for it anymore now that I'm in Tokyo," she said. "But it reminds me of the past. Having it with me makes me feel safe."

"Oh, so you're not from Tokyo?"

"No, I only moved here about two years ago."

"Well, I've been here longer than that, but I didn't grow up here either. Even if my parents live in the city."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I visited boarding schools practically all my life, and they were of the fancy, expensive, outside in the countryside kind."

"Ooh, that sounds nice."

"Nah, it wasn't really. Or at least not for me. It felt constraining." What the hell? Here he was again, telling her things he normally didn't tell anyone because no one needed to know.

Usagi nodded sympathetically at this. "I get that. I hate feeling confined, too. That's why I never take the subway and always walk towards Dr. Meioh's."

"How long have you been going to visit her then?"

"Since I came to Toyko."

"And?"

Usagi stared quizzically at him. "And what?"

"Has it helped you? I don't really see any use of visiting her. It's just a waste of time and money."

Usagi didn't say anything at this at first, her hands clasped behind her back, her bunny bag swinging at her side with every step. She stared straight ahead for a few minutes in concentration, as if pondering on her reply. "I don't know if it's exactly useless. I don't think that it is, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't be going if they weren't making me."

"Who's making you go?"

But Usagi only shrugged her shoulders in reply, obviously not wanting to say it out loud to him. They walked in silence for a few moments before she piped up once more. "But I really like Meioh-san. She's nice and makes me feel safe. At times I get the feeling she wants to protect me."

Seiya snorted slightly at this. Nope, that was definitely not the way the doctor was making him feel. It didn't go unnoticed by Usagi. "What?" she asked, turning on her heels so that she walked backwards for a few steps, looking up at him.

"I wish she'd do that for me too. All she does is make me feel either exhausted or bad about myself."

"Have you done so many things to feel bad about then?"

Seiya was stumped for an answer at this. Yes, no, maybe? What's your definition of bad? He didn't know to reply to her innocent sounding enquiry. So he just shrugged his shoulders, giving her his best boyish grin to hide his emotions under.

"Well, you seem to know your way around pretty well, even though you're not from here," he said instead, switching the subject abruptly.

"Oh, you think so?" she said, smiling, obviously happy to hear him say so.

"I never would have found such a nice café on my own. And I probably would never find my way on my own to the doctor's office either."

Usagi laughed at this. "It's not that hard. And the truth is," she paused, stopping in her tracks, looking from side to side once, before grabbing his right arm and pulling his upper body closer to hers, before whispering to him. "I'm not that good at it either. I just had to remember some routes because I don't like the subway."

"Right, you said so," Seiya replied, nodding solemnly, trying to keep his voice serious at her adorable display of conspiracy.

"Rei tried taking me once, but I couldn't stand it. There was so little space. And everyone was squished against me," she said, shuddering at the memory.

"Rei's that young priestess, right? I don't think she liked me very much."

"Oh, I don't think it's you personally," Usagi laughed. "She just doesn't like men."

"Really now."

"Yeah, I've tried asking her about it, but she never tells me anything other than to be careful around men. She sounds almost like Luna." After saying this, her steps faltered a bit, and she turned to look at him once more, as some sort of realization seemed to dawn on her. "Why are you following me?"

"What?"

"Why are you following me to Dr. Meioh? Do you have an appointment with her too?" she asked once more, her eyes narrowed, as she took a step away from him.

"What? No! No, of course I'm not following you! I don't, I was just –" Seiya stopped in mid-sentence. Yes, just what was he doing here exactly? He had just meant to tag along to the entrance of the Shrine, and somehow here he was, probably halfway to her destination.

Seeing that he had no answer, Usagi gripped her bunny bag tightly, her forehead creased in worry. Seiya recognized her hostile body language, and threw up his hands in a defensive motion.

"Whoa, whoa, don't look at me like that. I didn't mean to tag along. I just got … side-tracked, I guess," he said, thinking that honesty would probably work best for him right now. That, and he really had no other, wittier response bubble up in his mind.

Usagi's eyes softened a bit. But Seiya had no desire to have an angry Shinto priestess come knocking at his door that night, and decided that it was time for him to go anyway.

"Well, Odango Atama, give Meioh-san my love. Ja ne!" he said with a handsome wink, before turning on his heel.

* * *

The strangest thing happened that day.

Upon arriving home, Seiya felt a long forgotten feeling, a certain itch in his fingers, something that he hadn't felt in the longest time. When Taiki and Yaten came back from their practice, they could hear guitar chords wafting through the air the moment they had stepped out of the elevator on their floor. As they unlocked the door, they saw Seiya sitting in the living room, guitar on his lap, a messy pile of paper lying in front of him. They had recognized Seiya's lie to get out of practicing with them earlier that day straight away – as good as a liar Seiya thought himself to be, there was no fooling them.

The surprise of really seeing him sit there with his guitar in his lap just like in old times, made them stall in the doorway of their apartment, their mouths open as they gaped at Seiya in surprise. He was sitting with his back to them, and seemed to be so caught up in what he was doing that he hadn't even noticed the unlocking of the door. Yaten and Taiki stared at each other in surprise for a moment. Letting the door fall back into its lock loudly, they were quick to adopt neutral facial expressions as Seiya turned around to look at them.

"Hey there," he greeted them with a grin. "You two look like a crap."

"We missed you too," Yaten countered, rolling his eyes, as he hung up his coat and dropped his bag on a chair noisily before wandering off into the kitchen.

"So, I see you've been busy," Taiki said, walking over towards him and sitting down beside Seiya. He glanced down at the papers spread out on the low sofa table.

"Yeah, I guess I have," Seiya muttered, in between strumming chords on his guitar. Leaning back against the soft sofa, he looked up at the ceiling as he continued playing. Taiki watched him do so for several minutes, listening intently to the music.

"It sounds different," he said finally.

"It does, doesn't it?"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Seiya said with a grin on his face.

"Well, I guess just about anything's better than nothing," Taiki said with a grin, before ducking the pillow Seiya had aimed at his head.

"I haven't finished anything yet," Seiya said, as he saw Taiki reach for some of the sheets of paper that lay in front of them.

Taiki glanced at the scattered bits and pieces of melodies and lyrics. It did indeed sound different from what they had done so far. But in a good way. He knew that Seiya didn't like him looking over his shoulder like that, and quickly laid the paper down again. But he couldn't help but smile at his friend. "I like it."

* * *

Day turned into night fast that day. Yaten and Taiki had soon joined Seiya, the three of them jamming long into the night. But as the night grew darker, they became less and less productive, Yaten having dug out a bottle of whiskey quite some time ago. As they sat there in their living room, guitars in their laps, the remains of some Chinese food they had ordered some hours ago scattered around them, the cool air wafting in through the glass doors that opened to their roof top, Seiya couldn't help but smile.

"To the start of a new era," he said, his voice already a little slurred, as he raised his glass once more.

"A new era? Isn't that a bit rich?" Yaten asked, his voice sounding not much better than Seiya's. He was lying flat on his back on the sofa, balancing his drink on his chest with one hand.

"No, no, seriously. This is going to be good, I can feel it," Seiya said. "No, not only good, it will be great. Amazing. Brilliant."

"Careful, don't trip over that ego of yours once you get up," Yaten snarled.

Taiki chuckled at this. He was probably still in the best shape out of the three of them, but he too couldn't deny the alcohol anymore. "Oh, never mind it Yaten, let him enjoy the feeling at least for tonight."

"No, I mean it, this isn't some fluke. I'm writing our third album and it will be fucking brilliant. Just you wait and see, it'll be done in a week."

At this, both Taiki and Yaten burst out in laughter, Yaten following it with a yelp as he had spilled his drink all over himself. "Oh fuck," he muttered as he jumped off the sofa, wiping at his expensive looking shirt, before stumbling away in the direction of the kitchen. They could hear him curse some more as he bumped into pieces of furniture along the way.

Taiki, still chuckling, turned away from Yaten's retreating figure to look back towards Seiya. The dark haired man had crossed his arms across his chest, his eyes defiant.

"What, you don't believe I can do it?"

"Well, isn't it a bit much you're trying to do?"

"I'm telling you Taiki, it's –"

"Going to great, yeah you said so already. But don't rush this. Inspiration comes and goes, it's nothing I'd rely on in your place."

Seiya grumbled angrily at this. "You just don't believe I can still do this. That we can still do this."

Taiki looked taken aback upon hearing this. Was there some truth in what Seiya was saying? Had he really lost faith not only in him as a bandleader but also in them as a group? There seemed no denying it, maybe he really had. He had loved the time they had spent together, and really, there were worse ways than beginning adulthood as a popstar. But he had never clung to fame and fortune as much or as desperately as Seiya or Yaten had. He had always known there were other things out there that would be able to fulfil him, that would kindle his passion and interest. Maybe deep down, he had already come to term with these facts. But it wasn't until Seiya had voiced his thoughts and told him that he had sensed it too, that he really saw his feelings for what they were.

"I knew it," Seiya hissed, getting up angrily. "You know what? I'll show you. Wanna bet? I'll have this new album done by the end of the month."

"Oh come on now, Seiya, be reasonable. I'm not going to bet with you."

"Well fine, don't. But you're the witness to the fact that I said it will be done by the end of the month. Just you wait and see," Seiya spat at him, before angrily storming off to his room.

Taiki massaged his temples, sighing.


	6. Chapter 6

Crazy

Chapter 6

By Greta

* * *

"I just don't get … It just – it just disappeared again!" Seiya said through his hands, his voice muffled. "Just like that!" he added, snapping his fingers.

He was lying on his back on a sofa in Dr. Meioh's office, his hands covering his face, as he sighed in exhaustion. He had barely slept in days, wandering the halls of their apartment restlessly for so long that Yaten had practically dragged him into his room and sat him down on his bed there. He didn't even care about hiding his innermost self from Dr. Meioh that day, heck, for once he even really felt the urge to talk with her.

"Why did this happen?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"I can't tell you that, Seiya-san," she replied. She was sitting opposite from him, hands clasped in her lap, forefingers touching gently. "Have you thought about what brought your inspiration along in the first place? And what has changed since then?"

"I – I just don't know. It was just _there_," he said, his voice annoyed. "And then it just decided to fucking take off again. I pick up my guitar and can't even bring myself to play a single chord." He sighed, closing his eyes again.

"What happened on that day that you did manage to find your inspiration?"

"Nothing. It hit me just as I came back home."

"From where?"

"Excuse me?"

"You said you came home from somewhere. From where?"

Seiya crunched up his eyes in thought. "I don't know, nowhere really. I just returned something someone had forgotten, chatted for a bit, and that was it. And sat in the sun a bit I guess."

"Have you tried doing that again?"

Seiya rolled on to his side to look at the older woman better. "You're not helping me here, Meioh-san. Why would that make any difference? There was no inspiration whatsoever in that."

Dr. Meioh raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, oh really. She didn't voice her thoughts though, only tapped her fingers silently against each other. "There's no harm in trying, is there?"

* * *

Seiya had completely dismissed the doctor's advice, once again feeling confirmed that visiting a psychiatrist was absolutely useless and simply a waste of his time. But there remained the fact that his aspiration to write their new album until the end of the month seemed more like climbing the Mount Everest than anything else right now – simply imossible. He hadn't lied or only talked the way he had because of the alcohol – though there was no denying it that it had probably helped – that night when he had told Taiki that he'd be able to pull it off. He had really felt that way, he had literally been able to hear the music that was bubbling up inside of him and only needed to be written down. But when he had woken up again the next day, it had all disappeared. He had looked at the notes he had written the night before, and couldn't feel or hear a thing anymore. Annoyed and angry with himself, he had ripped everything up, tossing it into the trash in fury.

His frustration didn't go unnoticed when he returned home, but Taiki for one didn't press the matter. But it wasn't long until his not so silent brooding got on Yaten's nerves.

"Seiya, seriously, will – you – stop – it!" Yaten yelled at him, sticking out his head from his bedroom. "If you can't do anything than pace up and down the corridors and kick at everything that's in your way, just do it outside!" And with a slam of his door, he disappeared again.

"You know, he might be right," Taiki piped up from behind the newspaper he was reading. "It's a beautiful day outside. Go get some air."

So Seiya had grabbed his guitar, slinging it across his back, sunglasses on his nose. He had no clear destination in his mind and just let his feet carry him along the way. It wasn't until he saw an already all too familiar sight that he stopped in his tracks, cursing. Crap. What on earth had led him here, back to the Hiwakawa Shrine? It wasn't as if it was the only park near where they lived. But it was quiet and beautiful and peaceful, he told himself, and he hadn't seen anybody apart from himself and the two girls who lived there the last time he had been there, so the chances of getting cornered by fans seemed slim enough. That was probably why he had been drawn to this place.

He trudged down the familiar path, venturing deeper into the park than he had done before. It really was a beautiful and serene place, there was no denying that. He couldn't help but chuckle at himself. So Dr. Meioh had gotten her wish after all, he had actually taken some of her advice to heart.

Setting the guitar down gently, he flopped down into the grass, his arms behind his head, and just lay there in the warm sun for some time. He breathed in deeply, the far-away sound of cars of the ever busy Tokyo a gentle swooshing noise in his ears that was oddly calming. A light breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees and bushes surrounding him, and birds chirped cheerfully somewhere in the distance. He could even hear the cawing of the ravens he had seen circling over the shrine before. Was it really this that had inspired him?

Rubbing at his eyes, he pushed himself up from the ground and pulled the guitar towards him, absentmindedly playing a few chords. He was rummaging around in his bag for some paper and a pen, when a shadow fell over him and made him look up.

"Whatcha doing?" Usagi asked, grinning down at him.

"Oh, hi there, Odango Atama."

She stuck out her tongue at him upon hearing his teasing nickname for her. "I saw you lie in the grass from my room," she said as she flopped down beside him in the grass, pointing towards a small building next to the Hiwakawa Shrine, more precisely at a window that overlooked the park.

"You must have a nice view from your room. Especially with me in it," he said, smirking at her.

Usagi blinked in confusion, a tinge of pink appearing on her face before she puffed out her cheeks. "My view is lovely, thank you very much, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with you." She crossed her arms across her chest and looked away from him indignantly.

"Oh, don't mind me teasing you," Seiya said, laughing.

"Of course I mind being teased. Why do you keep doing it?" she asked crossly, her arms still folded in front of her chest.

"I don't know. So far no one's minded being teased by a handsome fellow like me."

"I'm sure they have but simply never told you."

Seiya looked slightly taken aback at this. "I really didn't mean to hurt you or anything."

Usagi raised one eyebrow at him and studied him for a moment before finally lowering her arms. "Alright. Apology accepted."

"Apolo - ?" Seiya asked but was stopped in mid-word as she grabbed his right hand and shook it heartily, almost comically, up and down. Who had said anything about apologizing?

Usagi misread his face and hastily dropped his hand again. "I'm sorry. Was I not supposed to do that? I thought it's how it should be done. I saw it on TV."

"I thought you never watched TV?"

"No, I said I didn't grow up with one. But I've watched quite a bit since coming to Tokyo. I like it. Especially the anime," she babbled.

"Well, about the hand-shaking … You don't have to do that every time when someone apologizes."

Usagi sighed, before flopping down on the grass once more. "I never seem to get it all right," she muttered unhappily. "Sometimes people think I don't have any tact or that I'm just plain stupid because I often mess up basic things like that."

"It's alright, it's no big deal," Seiya said, deciding against asking her just why she had never learnt it in the first place.

"It is for me. I'd just like to fit in somewhere at some point."

Seiya was stumped for an answer. Studying her features, he could see genuine sadness cross her face.

"Some people try to not be like everyone else for their entire life. They would do everything not to fit in."

"Well," she said, rolling on to her stomach to lean her chin on her hands and look up at him. "I've had enough of not fitting in for a lifetime."

Almost simultaneously, they decided to drop the subject, Seiya reaching for his guitar once more and Usagi adopting a far more cheerful tone, even if it did sound a little fake. "So, what's this you're doing here then? You never told me."

"I guess I'm trying to write music."

"Ooh," she said, her mouth a perfect 'O' as she gazed at the guitar in wonder. "Right, I keep forgetting you're a popstar."

"Well thanks a lot, Odango," he said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Will you play me something?" she asked, smiling.

"I … I don't know," he answered, his voice unsure.

"What's the matter? Shouldn't I have asked that?" she asked, her eyes wide in fear of having done something inappropriate again.

"No, not really. It's just I wouldn't know what to play you." Seeing her confused eyes, he continued. "I just can't hear, let alone play, anything from our old albums any more, but at the same time I'm having a hard time coming up with something new."

"So you're stuck?"

Seiya nodded.

"Whenever that happens to me, I just crawl back into bed and sleep. It always helps."

"So what, you suggest I just lie down and take nap? Now? Here?"

"Why not?" she asked, giggling, rolling back on to her back, her arms behind her head. But Seiya didn't follow her lead. He just shook his head in disbelief as he stared at her. Really, what a strange girl.

They didn't talk again for a long time, keeping each other company in silence. Usagi switched from lying on her back and staring up at the sun, to rolling back on to her stomach to read a manga she had fetched out of her bag again and again, a smile almost always playing at her lips. Seiya's eyes had at first drifted back to her from time to time, as he strummed away at his guitar without a plan. But ever so slowly the chords turned into melodies, words popping up in his head. Bending over the instrument, he scribbled everything down as fast he could, afraid that he would lose it all once more. He didn't even notice how his back was slowly starting to protest because of his slouched posture or how the sun was slowly setting, the sky a soft lilac colour. This was why he nearly jumped out of his skin, when his phone rang loudly, disturbing the peace and quiet. Groping around in his pockets he cursed under his breath, quickly turning off the annoying sound. He saw the picture of a woman of whom he had no recollection of whatsoever winking at him sexily flash up on the phone. He quickly cancelled the call, cursing loudly at her for interrupting him.

Tucking away his phone, his gaze fell on Usagi, who had curled up on her side and fallen asleep at some point, her head still resting on her arms. Her golden hair spilled around her and shimmered beautifully in the setting sun. Her soft looking skin was aglow in the warm light, her features peaceful and serene. Seiya's gaze softened as he studied her, consciously realizing for the first time that she wasn't just some _girl_, but actually a young women. And a rather beautiful one at that.

Seiya shook himself, shocked at his own thoughts. No, no, no, no, no. He really didn't need to go there. He cleared his throat once, twice, before reaching out to shake Usagi awake, none too gently.

"Hey … Hey, Odango Atama, wake up. The sun's setting, we should probably get going."

Usagi swatted at his hand, and curled up into a tight little ball, mumbling incoherently beneath her breath. It was a few moments before her eyes snapped open wide and she pushed herself away from the ground, studying her surroundings in shock.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Why didn't you wake me earlier?" she squealed, looking accusingly at Seiya, before starting to stuff her belongings back into her bag and putting on her shoes which she had taken off earlier.

"How should I have known? Why, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I need to go to evening school. And I'm totally running late now!" she groaned.

"Evening school?"

"Yeah, I never went to school when he locked me up and therefore never got a degree. So I have to go to evening school now."

Locked up? As in locked away somewhere? Had he really just heard her right? Seiya stared at Usagi in wide-eyed shock. But she didn't seem to have noticed that she had said anything shock-worthy, swinging her bag on to her shoulder.

"Oh, I'll be so late! Mizuno-san will not like that at all!" she said in worry, starting off towards the gates of the Hiwakawa grounds.

"Where is this evening school of yours? And when do you have to be there?" Seiya asked, grabbing his scattered things and stuffing them into his own leather bag, swinging the guitar over his shoulder, before following her in quick strides.

"It's in the city centre. And I have to be there in," she paused, staring down at her wristwatch. Seiya could just make out a small silver rabbit on the watch's face. "… in 20 minutes. Damn it," she muttered, quickening her pace.

"So just take the subway, you'll get there on time."

"Don't you listen? I don't like the subway, I already told you that!"

"Sorry, sorry, right, my bad. So take a cab?"

She fidgeted from foot to foot at this suggestion. "I don't know," she said, her voice unsure. "Being with other people in small spaces makes me uncomfortable."

"Even in a car?" Seiya asked her, incredulous.

Usagi just shrugged. "And anyway," she continued, forcing her voice to be louder and stronger, obviously not wanting to appear weak in front of him. "I don't have money for that sort of thing."

"If it's only that," Seiya said, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out some bills, and stuffed them into one of her hands.

"No, no, no, I can't accept that!" she said, her voice shocked, as she pushed the money back towards him.

"Oh come on, just take it. It's nothing, really."

"For you it might not be. But it's not nothing."

This game of pushing the money back and forth continued for a few more moments, both of them stubbornly trying to come out as the winner. Glancing at her watch, Usagi squealed once more, finally giving up the struggle.

"Oh, but I'll pay you back, really! Come back tomorrow, okay?" she yelled, not even waiting for an answer as she finally dashed off, her bunny bag swinging forth and fro.

* * *

Which was exactly what Seiya did the next day. It wasn't as if he needed the money of course, but a debt was a debt, right? And anyway, he had promised to come, hadn't he? Well, technically no, he hadn't. And since when had something like that that ever kept him from doing anything he didn't want to do? Was there really the slightest possibility that he actually, truly did want to return?

Seiya left the questions in his head unanswered, deliberately ignoring them. He had brought his guitar along once more, liking the progress he had made the other day. But it wasn't long before a shadow passed over him once more. A grin was playing at his lips as he looked up, but it quickly faltered. It was the young priestess again.

"So," she said.

"Yes?"

"You're here again."

"That I am."

"Why?"

"Do I need to have a reason? This park is open for anyone, isn't it?" Seiya asked saucily, not liking her tone.

"It is. But you're not here because of that," the young priestess said, stating a fact and not asking a question. She stared at him quietly for a few moments, her lilac eyes serious. Seiya could hear the cawing of crows once more, and looked up to see two large ravens circle low above their heads. They slowly swooped in and landed on the young woman's shoulders. Seiya couldn't stop the hairs on his arms from rising that moment. There was something undeniably eerie about that woman. Rei took a step towards him and leant closer. "She is a good girl. Her life hasn't been easy. Believe me, if you dare to hurt her, I will hunt you down."

There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that she would do just that.

"Oh come on I'm not planning on doing anything with her. It's just … coincidences, really. And your park happens to be a good place to write music in."

Rei didn't look as if she believed a word he was saying. But she decided against continuing this conversation, knowing she had left a lasting impression already. Stroking one of the raven's wings, she slowly walked away from Seiya.

The moment was definitely ruined for Seiya now, as music was the last thing on his mind after this strange encounter, and so he put his guitar away again. Smoothing out creases, he looked over some of the messy pieces of paper and the notes he had made on them the day before. There was one song he especially liked so far – he had tentatively named it Everything Is New.

A small hand holding out a wad of money suddenly hovered over his sheets of music, making him look up once more. Usagi was standing in front of him, a smile on her face. She wasn't dressed in her school uniform that day, but in a short, light blue summer dress. Its flowing skirt swayed around her petite frame in the breeze. Seiya realized for the first time, that he had only seen her in a school uniform so far. He reached out his hand to push the money away, but his hand stopped in mid-motion in front of him, where it hovered for a few moment, unsure of what to do. After another second or so, he slowly took the bills. How would he explain – to her, to himself – why he had come back otherwise?

"Thank you very much for borrowing me the cab fare," she said, bowing before him.

"No problem. Anytime."

"Well, I hope not."

"Aw, don't say it like that," he said, sounding slightly offended.

Usagi's face flushed with colour. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! It was very kind of you and I really appreciate it," she said, bowing her head once more. "I just hope I won't have to take a cab ride there again anytime soon, that's all," she explained with a sigh, before dropping down beside him. "I was late as it was yesterday. Mizuno-san is very kind, but she doesn't appreciate lateness at all. I got some extra math homework to do because of it, bah," she finished, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that, Odango."

"No, I thought you wouldn't be able to."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" He really wasn't offended by anything she was saying at all, but it was fun to see the colour in her cheeks rise like that.

Usagi flushed once more, looking embarrassed. "Oh, you keep misunderstanding me! It's just that I can't believe that anyone who's finished school already would actually still have a clue about these things. I know I would try to forget everything about math as soon as possible after graduating," she said, nodding her head to emphasize the fact. "I wish I already had," she added with a sigh.

"So," Seiya started, venturing carefully. "Why haven't you graduated yet?" He hadn't forgotten what she had said the day before about being locked up.

But Usagi saw right through him, eyeing him warily, not replying for a long time. She pulled her knees up to her chest, playing with the clasp of her leather sandals. He saw that her toenails were painted baby pink.

"As I said, my parents died when I was small. My parents and my little brother. We got into an accident, and I was the only one that made it," she finally said.

"I'm sorry," Seiya whispered softly, one arm hovering awkwardly above her back. Should he console her somehow? He didn't know, and at any point wasn't sure how. Pat her back? Hug her? Real emotions weren't really anything he'd dealt with in a long time.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. But I've often wondered if it might have been mine," she said softly, her fingers relentlessly picking at her shoes.

"Why?" Seiya asked her, wide-eyed.

"I should have saved them."

"Don't go blaming yourself, you were only a – How old were you back then?"

"Nine."

"You were only a kid! How were you supposed to do anything about an accident?"

"Yes, an _accident_," she mumbled, her eyes fixed on a point somewhere far away in the distance. There was something off-putting about the way she pronounced the word accident.

"Wasn't it an accident?"

"The police always said so … But it really was … He always said …" Usagi trailed off, her voice faltering. She cleared her throat loudly before continuing where she had left off earlier, simply ignoring what had been said in between. "So, they died when I was nine. I was put into different foster homes after that, and … And – and, well, at some point he – I mean they decided to home-school me … But, it didn't work out so well. So here I am, having to go to evening school," she said, her voice growing stronger with each sentence, at last even laughing as if to show him how perfectly normal it all was.

But Seiya felt no desire to laugh whatsoever. Usagi could sense this, and obviously disliked the look of his stricken face.

"Oh, stop that, Seiya-kun. It's not so bad, really. It could be worse. Well, apart from math obviously," she said, the laughter in her voice sounding genuine once more. "You don't by any chance know anyone who's looking to tutor a loveable, beautiful blonde girl for a tiny fee?"

"You know, I might actually."

* * *

**AN**: For anyone who's interested in the music: I can totally see the Three Lights going into a indie/rock/pop/alternative kind of direction. When first pondering on this, I had a mixture of The Kooks, Mando Diao and Jack Penate in my mind. If you don't know one or two or heaven forbid all three of them, go check them out! They're great artists.

"Everything Is New" is in fact a song by Jack Penate (no copyright infringement intended, just a shameless plug for some of my favourite music - if you do check it out be careful about the lyrics that can be found on the net, they're almost all horribly off. People obviously can't seem to understand his wonderful Cockney accent ;D)


	7. Chapter 7

Crazy

Chapter 7

By Greta

* * *

"So, how are you coping with that new medicine I prescribed you, Usagi-san?"

Usagi was sitting across from Dr. Meioh, her arms wrapped tightly around a fluffy pillow that was resting in her lap. She shrugged her shoulders. "OK, I guess," she muttered under her breath. "But I don't like taking them," she added with force, looking up from her lap to stare the doctor in the eyes, her eyebrows knotted in silent anger.

Setsuna sighed softly. Usagi looked so small and fragile, sitting in that large wing chair she always chose to sit in during their appointments.

"I know you don't. But it's made life easier for you, hasn't it? Without the hallucinations?"

"They're not – they were not hallucinations!" Usagi snapped angrily, her hands curling into fists, her posture stiffening.

Setsuna didn't reply to this, staring Usagi levelly in the eye. "We've been over this before, Usagi-san."

Usagi held her gaze, her mouth set in a firm line, her jaw set. She dropped the pillow to her lap, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly.

"So," Setsuna started up again after several moments of silence had passed. "How is everything else going? How's evening school?"

"Fine."

"And your job?"

"Fine."

Setsuna knew that this last part wasn't, at the least, completely honest. The same social worker that had organized Usagi a room at the Hiwakawa Shrine boarding house and arranged the appointments for psychotherapy with her had also organized Usagi a job. Three times a week Usagi worked in a call-center, and it was a source of constant complaint for her.

But Setsuna didn't press the matter, recognizing the signs. Usagi had closed up for the day and there was no use in trying to pry her shell open once more.

"I know you don't like the medicine, Usagi-san," the older woman said, returning to the topic from earlier once more, her voice growing soft and understanding. Her eyes were kind as she studied the blonde's face. But Usagi's anger didn't lessen.

"There are times when I don't feel like myself at all anymore! And what's so wrong about being myself?" Usagi asked loudly, leaning forwards to stare at Setsuna beseechingly.

"There's nothing wrong about you or you being yourself. You're a wonderful person, Usagi-san. We're only doing this to make life easier for you, not harder. Other people, people who don't know, are often not very understanding."

"So? They don't need to understand," she said angrily, before slumping back against the chair once more. "And it's not as if anyone cares anyway."

Setsuna frowned upon hearing this. She hadn't seen her young patient this sullen and bad tempered in quite some time now, and Usagi had been visiting her for two years already. Standing up from her leather seat, Setsuna walked over to her desk to pick up a pad of paper, and started scribbling something on it, before ripping it off. Walking over to Usagi, she placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder softly, making her look up with that mesmerizing blue gaze of hers.

"Here," Setsuna said, handing Usagi a prescription. "How about we try this instead."

* * *

Usagi stared angrily at the piece of paper clutched in her hand, as if it was a personal insult to her. Was this the third or the fourth already that this had happened? She had lost count. Either way, it wasn't the first time that Dr. Meioh had changed Usagi's medication, hoping for the best, hoping that Usagi would finally find some pills she didn't mind taking. But Usagi knew that that wouldn't happen. The medicine in itself wasn't the problem – that in itself or some strange side effect wasn't what was making her unhappy. The medicine was working just fine. And _that_ was the real problem.

At first, back in the asylum, she hadn't cared about taking medicine on a regular basis - everyone there had had to. It had seemed quite normal, like the thing to do, and she had rarely given it a second thought. Life had suddenly been so different back then, and with that simply interesting and exciting, especially after her years of monotony and solitude, that she hadn't cared at all and gladly done what was asked of her.

Then she had come to Tokyo. Taking her medication twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening, had become part of her daily routine in her two years at the asylum, so she hadn't really minded at first either. But there came the moment, when she realized that what she was doing wasn't part of what everyone considered normal. No one else she knew here had to, and she felt self-conscious. It wasn't as if she really needed them. There was nothing wrong with her after all! Right? The voice in her head sounded sullen and defensive even to herself.

But most of all, she was scared of what the pills were doing to her.

She had long lost the power to decipher what was right and was wrong, what was reality and what she had after all only imagined, just as everyone kept telling her. She knew the truth must lie somewhere in the middle – for she knew that she hadn't just made everything up, that everything she had believed in and known for so many years wasn't only a lie her brain had conjured up, she was sure of it. Just as much as _he_ simply couldn't have made up everything that he had ever told her either, everything that he had made her believe, sick as she now realized he had been. Usagi couldn't help but shudder when thinking about Demando. It seemed like a lifetime away.

But she wasn't anything like him; she definitely didn't need those goddamn pills anymore! She was fine, perfectly fine. Ripping the prescription up into tiny pieces, she tossed it into the next trashcan that crossed her way triumphantly.

* * *

"My oh my, aren't you looking well today, Seiya," Minako greeted the black haired young man with a grin as he entered the kitchen, while sipping on a cup of coffee which she was holding with one hand. She had been busily typing away on her phone with her other hand and had only glanced up from its screen when he had trudged into the kitchen, yawning loudly, his arms stretched behind his head.

Seiya returned the grin, flopping down in the chair opposite from her. This was nothing but fun banter and always had been. But that didn't keep Minako from looking him up and down unashamedly, her eyebrow raised in appreciation. She finally stopped to glance down at an expensive looking watch on her wrist.

"It's 11 am. So, is that early or late for you? I always forget."

"I'm not sure either. Somewhere in between I guess."

"You're such a bad liar, Seiya. Everyone knows that you're a party whore. 11 am is like the break of dawn for you. You and Taiki normally pass each other in the hallway every day, you finally finding your way home, and Taiki getting ready to read the morning newspaper," Yaten drawled, leaning against a kitchen counter, sipping at a cup of coffee himself. Taiki, who stood next to him, chuckled at this.

"He is right, you know."

"Oh shut up. Who cares anyway? I'm up and about and looking good at it," Seiya said cockily, his arms resting on the kitchen counter, looking down at his arms as he flexed his muscles.

"That I will sign," Minako said, winking. "But seriously Seiya, I like the looks of you. You look healthier than you used to. What's changed?"

"Not much really … Less partying and more sleep during the last few weeks. And some fresh air and sunlight. And the music, of course."

"Ah, the music!" Minako said, dropping her phone back on the kitchen island and clapping her hands together in excitement. "Thanks for the keyword. So?" she asked, drawing out the last syllable, her glance skipping from Seiya to Taiki to Yaten and back again in excitement.

"Don't look at us, it's all Seiya's doing."

"So the muse kissed you again, did she?" Minako asked, resting her chin on her left hand, staring at him intently, still smiling.

"I guess so. Well, what can I say. It's coming along nicely. Give me some more time. But that's pretty much everything on my part, isn't it? I do the magic, you do the organization and paperwork," he said, winking, as he got back to his feet, snatching her mug away from her and drowning the last dregs of cold coffee in one gulp, making a face at its taste. "If you need me, I'll be in the shower," he said with another wink.

Minako rolled her eyes at his retreating back, shaking her head silently, waiting until she heard a door somewhere in the distance close shut before snorting loudly. "Muse my ass."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, are you two blind? There's a girl involved in this somehow. I can just feel it."

"Seiya? After the whole fiasco with Kakyuu? No way," Yaten said sceptically, his head cocked in thought nonetheless. "He swore he was through with romance, and the truth is, he made it easy enough to believe these past few years."

"Ah, just you wait and see. My senses are tingling. And they don't call me the Goddess of Love for nothing," Minako said, giggling.

At this, Yaten couldn't help but snort himself, muttering incoherently beneath his breath.

Hearing this, Minako turned angrily into his direction, her laughter dying away. "What was that, Yaten? Do speak up so everyone can hear you," she said, her voice much harsher than it had been before.

"Never mind," he said, rolling his eyes, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"No, really, I insist," Minako said, her voice steely.

"You really think that's the only reason anyone calls you that?" Yaten burst out without further ado. "That it's just about your tingling senses about other people's romance?" Yaten spat at her sarcastically.

Minako sprung up from her chair angrily and marched over to him with heavy steps. "Don't be a bastard," she said slowly, staring him levelly in the eye. "I never wronged you in any way."

"Oh really, is that the way you see it?"

Without further ado, Minako raised her arm swiftly and slapped him harshly across the face. "Yes, and we both know it. Stop being an ass," she hissed, before turning on her heels to walk back towards the chair her large leather bag was balancing on. Picking it up, she stormed out of the kitchen with heavy steps, not sparing them another look, her face set angrily. The loud banging of their front door told them that she had left.

"Was that really necessary just now?" Taiki asked after a moment of silence with a sigh, staring down at the shell-shocked Yaten, his left cheek already flushing pink.

At this Yaten pushed himself away from the kitchen counter, twirling to look up at Taiki. "What?" he yelled. "What? You think there was no reason why we broke up? That it was all me being an asshole?"

"How should I know? It's not as if you've ever told us much about why it happened," Taiki said, shrugging his shoulders. Seeing the raging emotions in his friend's eyes, Taiki couldn't help and feel a stab of remorse inside of him. His gaze softened, as he reached out one arm, meaning to pat Yaten on the shoulder. But the smaller man just backed away, shaking his head.

"Don't. Just … Just don't bother," he muttered, hurt and angry, before turning to leave the room himself.

Taiki looked at his retreating back silently, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He stood there in silence for a few moments, pondering on what had just happened. It wasn't until his phone rang loudly that he snapped out of this reverie. He couldn't help but frown when he saw who was calling him, and hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

"Yes, Aino-san?"

"Listen, I'm sorry about that, Taiki," Minako said, sighing loudly. "I really don't want to involve the rest of you in this … But at times he can just be so – so exasperating." Taiki could hear her sigh heavily once more. "So anyway, in my hurried getaway I completely forgot to tell you about an important appointment. You're having dinner on Friday with two of the bosses. All three of you. And I trust _you_ the most to make sure that everyone is there."

"Of course, Aino-san. I'll take care of it."

"Oh, and Taiki?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure they dress nice and pull their act together. They really shouldn't mess up that dinner if they want to see that new album get realized any time soon."

* * *

So on Friday night, the three of them found themselves in one of the most expensive restaurants in Tokyo. They were seated on the roof top of a skyscraper that overlooked the night skyline of the city, a warm summer breeze rustling through their clothes and hair. The table and chairs were made of dark brown, roughly hewn wood, large planters of exotic flowers separating the individual tables from each other spaciously, giving every table some privacy. Yaten, Taiki and Seiya were seated across from two men who looked to be in their early to mid-thirties. Both of them were wearing very expensive looking suits, along with polite but none too honest looking smiles hovering about their lips.

There was something rather unsettling about those smiles, and all three of them could feel it, plastering fake smiles to their faces as well.

"Well, boys," one of the men started saying, his elbows on the table, his fingertips touching each other. He was a very handsome man with very strong, very square facial features, softened only by the very mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes. His long, wavy brown hair reached his shoulders, touching the white dress shirt he was wearing, his jacket slung over the back of his chair.

Seiya now knew why Taiki had insisted on hammering into his and Yaten's head over the past few days that being polite was important on this evening. Still, Seiya had to summon up all his self-control and manners not to roll his eyes at that moment. Boys. Honestly, what sort of crap was that? He hated being addressed like that, like some little school kid that was not being taken serious, but the teacher not quite daring to say it out loud yet.

"Minako tells us that you're making good progress."

"We are. I'd say about half the songs are done by now," Seiya said through a fake smile, none too modestly.

"She also mentioned that you want this album to be released by the end of the month."

Taiki and Seiya glanced at each other for a second. They had talked this over before coming here, Taiki trying his best to bring Seiya to his senses and drop that plan, saying that he didn't need to prove him anything, that he believed in them as a band as well as him. But for Seiya this wasn't about proving Taiki wrong or right anymore, this was about proving it to himself. He needed to prove to himself that he could still do this, that he was still good at what he was doing.

"That is correct, Nephrite-san," Seiya said, fake smile still in place.

"Last album almost a flop, nothing new for two years, no tour in over a year," the other man piped up, counting the things he was saying with the fingers of his right hand. "And now all of a sudden, out of the blue, you present us with this," he continued. His fake smile didn't even reach his icy blue eyes. "You haven't really given us a lot of reasons in the past few years to make us believe in this new project of yours now, have you." It was a statement, not a question. The man looked to be about the same age as Nephrite. He was slumped lazily against the back of his chair, running one hand through his short blonde hair.

Seiya mustered up every ounce of self-control he could find in himself, as his mind yelled "Arrogant bastards!" loudly at them. Luckily Taiki spoke up, sounding much more polite and calm than he ever could have at that moment.

"We know, Nephrite-sama, Jadeite-sama, and we are very honoured and glad that Galaxia Records has stayed with us through these ups and downs. Your loyalty and belief in us means a lot."

"And the new album will be nothing like the last," Seiya said, through a forced smile. "Believe me. It's heading into a totally different direction."

Nephrite and Jadeite glanced at each other for a moment. They were by no means as uninterested as they were appearing to be at that moment. True, the Three Light's second album hadn't been anywhere as successful as their first, but then that was a hard call to make. And the Three Lights were more than simply a band, they were a brand in themselves. Three attractive young men, each appealing in their own way, that could actually make decent music, with a huge base of loyal fangirls supporting their every move wasn't something you found every day. And most definitely not something you dropped anytime soon without a really good reason. But the two managers of Galaxia Records had been active in this business for far too long by now and weren't about to let the three young men in on their thoughts.

Nephrite sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know … that doesn't necessarily mean that it's heading in a good direction, is it?"

"So how about you form your own opinion on it?" Yaten asked casually. He knew how these games were played; he had always had a knack for this kind of thing. He was leaning back in his chair casually as well, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"How about we throw a party – a … a pre-recording party. We'll play the songs that have been finished so far and you can see for yourself how you like it," he suggested, studying his right hand nonchalantly.

Jadeite and Nephrite smiled.

* * *

Electronic music was pumping through his body loudly, making his fingers twitch.

"You do realize that I was lying when I said that half the album was done, right?" Seiya practically yelled at the top of his lungs at Taiki and Yaten who had their heads bent in his direction, trying to make his voice heard over the incredibly loud music. The dinner had taken a far more cheerful turn after business talk had been concluded, the bosses finding a great liking for Yaten's idea. The hours had come and gone by quickly, and with them dinner and more than just a few drinks. Wanting to celebrate their successful meeting, the two bosses had taken the three along to a new and very posh club of theirs.

"Well, you better get cracking then in the next few days!" Yaten yelled back, grinning devilishly, raising his glass in a salute.

Even Taiki didn't seem to see much of a problem in this, only patting his friend on the back heartily a few times, mirroring Yaten's movements.

Seiya rolled his eyes at them in mock exasperation, before raising his glass as well. "To our new album!"

He had barely sat down his glass on the counter of the bar, when a slim hand closed on his right arm, tugging at his upper body and making him twist around in his seat. It took him a moment to realize who was standing in front of him – it was the model that he had snubbed at the Amazoness' Quartet release party a few fortnights back. She too hadn't forgotten how their last encounter had ended, as she stared up at him with a sexy pout, her features looking slightly sulky. Her long locks of golden hair were piled messily on top of her head, long dangly earrings reaching down to brush against her bare shoulders. She was wearing a figure hugging dark blue dress, balancing on very high heels as she leaned towards him. All in all, it was a very sexy sulk.

"Hello again," she said into his ear, her voice sexy and husky.

There was nothing annoying about her that night for Seiya. He grinned back at her sexily, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. "Hi there."

He knew what he would be doing that night.


End file.
